We are writing as the current Queer The Land advisory committee in support of Evana Enabulele. Queer The Land was started by a group of community organizers who sought to create a safe place for Queer and Trans people of color to live and thrive. While there have been major successes in the last few years, including the purchase of our very own home, there have been serious organizational challenges and failures that we must acknowledge.
Between 2024–2025, the organization experienced a significant lack of capacity and infrastructure, leaving much of Queer The Land’s operations in the hands of a single staff member, Evana. During that period, Evana carried the sole responsibility of maintaining the organization’s day-to-day functions, managing all employees, supporting annual programs, maintaining household chores and bills, and raising funds through grants and community partnerships, all while pregnant and attending school full-time.
In order to better support the org, they left their full-time job of over a decade. Evana should not have been carrying that level of responsibility alone. When their responsibilities to the org meant that they were not able to take a real maternity break, it became clear that Evana was, in effect, working as an Executive Director without acknowledgement, title, or compensation.
We encourage our community to be in generative practice when it comes to conflicts and invite our partners to contact us directly with any genuine concerns about Queer The Land. There have been statements made online specifically targeting Evana, and these have had a great impact on Evana’s health, relationships, and ability to continue to lead with dignity, as they navigate their postpartum period. While QTL was never meant to operate like a traditional non-profit, our lack of organizational structure ended up replicating the same patterns of harm: black femmes expected to over-work, over-support, and over-extend without receiving the same in kind. These are not instances that we take lightly, and we are working to create a structure that supports our community, our members, and our staff. Additionally, misleading statements concerning QTL’s funding are harmful to those who benefit from our ongoing projects. For complete transparency, over 75% of the funding we have received is earmarked for the affordable housing project and remains intact.
As an organization rooted in community care and with the understanding that we all have the capacity to harm and be harmed, we believe conflict should be addressed with honesty, compassion, and a commitment to learning, rather than disposability. Queer The Land is rebuilding our organizational structure and membership base so that we can move forward to better serve our community. We ask you to work with us to create solutions that hold the complexities of living with oppressive systems, trauma, mental health, disabilities, and the limitations of organizational capacity to extend support to community members in need of more comprehensive care. Accountability is a core principle of Queer The Land. We are working towards creating conflict and accountability protocols and strive to be an organization where members can be accountable to our community and each other.
This letter is an invitation to consider what intentional, anti-carceral accountability looks like in our community. We welcome questions, concerns, and thoughtful feedback as we continue to address the structural gaps and existing needs within our organization. If you would like to have further dialogue, send an email to kalayo@queertheland.org.